F1Zone.net is delighted to announce that it will act as official Media Partners to young Romanian racer Alexandra Marinescu as she bids to climb the motorsport ladder. Marinescu, 16, has been karting for the last seven years and for the past few seasons has competed in single-seater categories with a limited budget. Marinescu is striving to compete in the second half of this year’s British Formula 4 championship, which visits some of the most prestigious circuits in the United Kingdom. Marinescu is trying to raise […]
Daniel Ricciardo has praised outgoing Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel, saying that the world champion handled the relationship between them 'really well' in 2014. Ricciardo joined Red Bull at the start of the year and has claimed three wins, while Vettel has suffered a win-less campaign and will move to Ferrari next season. But Ricciardo says that he can learn from Vettel's humility during a troublesome year for the four-time world champion. "I think the way he basically brings the people who work with him […]
Reigning GP2 champion Fabio Leimer will test for Lotus at Paul Ricard next Tuesday. The Swiss racer, who is competing in the World Endurance Championship this season, will test an E20 courtesy of tyre supplier Pirelli. Leimer has previously tested a Formula 1 car during the young driver test, when he sampled a Sauber. "We’re delighted that Fabio will get the chance to drive a Formula One car as part of his prize for winning GP2, underlining our commitment to do everything we can to […]
Max Chilton believes that Sauber is now within Marussia's sights following the Spanish Grand Prix. Chilton finished the race in 19th place, a few positions behind Sauber drivers Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil. "I’m really pleased that we’ve seen a good step forward here and we’ve been able to lift our performance versus the cars around us," he said. "We’ve definitely gained a really strong advantage on the Caterhams and the Saubers are now in our sights, so well done to the Team. On a […]
Force India has expanded their driver development programme with Hilmer Motorsport to include the GP3 Series. The Silverstone based team recently announced a partnership with Hilmer in GP2, with Daniel Abt and Facu Regalia racing in the colours of Force India this year. Hilmer recently assumed the entry into GP3 originally granted to Russian Time and the team confirmed on Tuesday that their partnership with Force India will see their three GP3 cars compete in Force India's colours. "Our partnership with Hilmer to field a […]
Williams reserve driver Felipe Nasr is targeting winning the GP2 title this season after confirming that he will continue to race for Carlin in the series. Nasr made his GP2 debut in 2012 and finished in fourth place in last year's championship after switching to Carlin. The Brazilian will dovetail his GP2 duties with his commitments in Formula 1 with Williams. Nasr tested the Williams FW36 during the final pre-season test in Bahrain and is set to participate in five free practice sessions for the […]
Reigning GP2 champions Russian Time have revealed that Mitch Evans and Artem Markelov will race for the team in 2014. Russian Time won the teams' title in their debut season last year and came close to winning the drivers' championship with Sam Bird. But the squad was rocked by the sudden death of founder Igor Mazepa earlier this month and the withdrawal of Motopark from the team earlier this week. Russian Time confirmed that they will be operated by the management from iSport International that […]
Ferrari protege Raffaele Marciello has joined Racing Engineering for this season's GP2 championship. Marciello, 19, won the Formula Three European championship last season. Racing Engineering took Fabio Leimer to the GP2 title in 2013. Marciello tested for Racing Engineering at the end of last season and had already been confirmed in GP2, but had yet to reveal with which team he would race. "I'm really happy to be a part of Racing Engineering," said Marciello. "It is one of the strongest teams and I feel […]
Organisers of the GP2 Series have confirmed that Formula 1's feeder series will adopt the rule stating that both tyre compounds must be used in the feature race. The GP2 drivers race twice across a weekend, with the feature race usually taking place after Formula 1's qualifying session. Drivers must make a pit stop during the feature race, but from 2014 the option and prime tyre must be used in the feature race. During 2013, several drivers claimed victory in the feature race by running […]
Sauber reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin will continue to race in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series this year. Sirotkin, 18, finished in ninth place in his rookie campaign in the category last season when he raced for the ISR team. Sirotkin will switch to championship frontrunners Fortec Motorsports in 2014, alongside his duties with Sauber. The Russian is still being prepared for future a race drive in Formula 1 by Sauber. "It was a difficult December, with many important decisions for my career," said Sirotkin. "Now […]
Arthur Pic will make his GP2 debut this year for series returnees Campos Racing. Pic, younger brother of F1 racer Charles, has spent three seasons in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and finished in eighth place last year. Pic tested for ART in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2013 but will race for Campos. Campos participated in GP2 between 2005 and 2008 and returns to the series this year having taken over the entry held by Addax. "We followed him closely and his future […]
Reflecting on the young drivers progressing through the ranks, with a brief look at GP2, GP3, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula 3 and Formula Renault 2.0. GP2 Series: Swiss roll This season’s GP2 championship was far from a classic as neither title contender emerged as a serious candidate for a Formula 1 seat. Racing Engineering driver Fabio Leimer clinched the title during the penultimate race in Abu Dhabi; the Swiss driver won three feature races and bounced back to become the consistent benchmark after a middling […]